Feminism

Feminism is a political ideology that has the goal of establishing the equality of sexes, including establishing educational and professional opportunities for women that are equal to such opportunities for men. Feminist movements have come in three waves, each advocating for different causes. "First-wave feminists" were active during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and they supported marriage, parenting, and property rights for women, as well as the right to vote. Second-wave feminism began in the 1960s, supporting an end to gender discrimination, supporting reproductive rights, and contraceptive rights. Third-wave feminism began in the 1990s with the goal of challenging female heterosexuality and celebrating sexuality as a means of female empowerment, and it would face opposition from "post-feminists", who opposed the third-wave feminists' radical views on strict gender neutrality, loose definitions of rape and sexual assault, and occasionally misandrous views. Feminism has several variants across the world, with feminist movements in the Islamic world arguing for different causes than American feminist movements.